National Park Service Cultural Landscapes Inventory …2011 Sky Ranch Grand Teton National Park 2...

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1 National Park Service Cultural Landscapes Inventory 2011 Sky Ranch Grand Teton National Park

Transcript of National Park Service Cultural Landscapes Inventory …2011 Sky Ranch Grand Teton National Park 2...

Page 1: National Park Service Cultural Landscapes Inventory …2011 Sky Ranch Grand Teton National Park 2 Contents Inventory Unit Summary and Site Plan Concurrence Status Geographic Information

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National Park Service Cultural Landscapes Inventory

2011

Sky Ranch Grand Teton National Park

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Contents Inventory Unit Summary and Site Plan Concurrence Status Geographic Information and Location Map Management Information National Register Information Chronology and Physical History Analysis and Evaluation Condition Treatment Biography and Supplemental Information

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Inventory Unit Summary and Site Plan Cultural Landscape Inventory Name: Sky Ranch Cultural Landscape Inventory Number: 975643 Parent Cultural Landscape Inventory Name: Grand Teton NP landscape Parent Cultural Landscape Inventory Number: 890193 Park Name: Grand Teton National Park Park Alpha Code: GRTE Park Org Code: 1460

Landscape/Component Landscape Description: The Sky Ranch Historic District is a 13.43-acre vacation property located within the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park, approximately 3 miles west of Moose, Wyoming, and 15 miles north of Jackson, Wyoming. The property lies in the Snake River valley, between the Teton and Gros Ventre ranges, at the base of Buck Mountain. The property spans the forested slopes of the Teton Range and the sagebrush flats of the Snake River valley. The residential buildings on the property, which include a main cabin, guest cabin, servants cabin, bathhouse and bunk house, are situated at the western edge of the forested area, and arranged in a somewhat linear fashion oriented to the east/southeast, affording spectacular views of the Gros Ventre Range, with the meadows and pastures of the historic White Grass Ranch in the foreground. To the west of the buildings, the land rises toward the peaks of the Teton Range, with foothills/subalpine vegetation consisting primarily of Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine and aspen. The western boundary of the property is defined by the Valley Trail, which runs along the base of the mountains from Teton Village to Taggart Lake. The buildings on the property are confined to domestic and agricultural uses. Associated landscape features include access roads, gates, buck and pole fencing, a corral, a water catchment system, creeks, a bridge, a culvert, stands of fir and aspen, meadows, trails and walking paths, small areas of lawn and patio, a picnic/barbeque area, a concrete property marker, a salt lick, and play structures such as a tree fort and a yard swing. Important natural features include the Teton and Gros Ventre ranges, the Snake River valley, and two natural springs. The Sky Ranch Historic District is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places at the local level, with significance in history and architecture (Criteria A and C). The district’s period of significance begins in 1952, when the site was purchased by the Balderston family, and extends to 1982 when the Balderston family sold the property to the NPS with a 25-year lease in which the family could continue to occupy the property. Its use and physical appearance, including landscape and associated features, have remained virtually unaltered since 1953, when all but one of the buildings were constructed. Integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association is retained. Inventory Unit Size (Acres): 13.43 Property Level: Component Landscape CLI Hierarchy Description: Sky Ranch is one of several component

landscapes within the broader parent landscape of Grand Teton National Park.

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Site Plan Graphic Information

Site plan for Sky Ranch Historic District showing contributing and non-contributing buildings. Source: Determination of Eligibility, 2005.

Site plan for Sky Ranch showing boundary of historic district and main features. Source: GRTE GIS files.

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Site plan for Sky Ranch showing boundary of historic district (red), contributing features (yellow), and non-contributing features (blue). Source: GRTE GIS files. Concurrence Status Completion Status Explanatory Narrative: This CLI was based on the Determination of Eligibility (DOE) for Sky Ranch Historic District, completed by Mary Humstone in July 2005. Humstone, accompanied by University of Wyoming American Studies students, as part of a 5-day historic preservation field class, surveyed and documented the landscape and buildings at Sky Ranch, and interviewed members of the Balderston family, original owners of the property. Additional research was conducted at the Jackson Hole Historical Society, the Teton County Courthouse and the University of Wyoming American Heritage Center. Within the 2005 DOE, buildings and structures were evaluated as contributing or non-contributing based on age and significance, condition and integrity. Because of the overall integrity of the site, only one building was evaluated noncontributing. The DOE also included cultural landscape features, but did not address whether those features were contributing or non-contributing to the district. The Wyoming SHPO concurred with the findings of the DOE on October 9, 2007; however, the DOE was not forwarded to the Keeper. Park Superintendent Concurrence: (To be filled in upon Supt. concurrence.) Date of Superintendent Concurrence (To be filled in upon Supt. concurrence.)

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National Register Eligibility: (To be filled in upon SHPO concurrence.) National Register Eligibility Concurrence Date (SHPO/Keeper): (To be filled in upon SHPO concurrence.) National Register Concurrence Explanatory Narrative: (To be filled in upon SHPO concurrence.)

Concurrence Graphic Information (To be filled in upon Supt./SHPO concurrence.) Geographic Information and Location Map Inventory Unit Boundary Description: The boundary of Sky Ranch Historic District is shown as the solid black line on the site plan, "Sky Ranch Historic District - Grand Teton National Park." Sky Ranch is located in the NE quarter of Section 28, Township 43 North, Range 116 West. This parcel of land is consistent with the original parcel that was purchased in 1952 by Bill Balderston II. The property lines have not changed since the time of purchase. Counties and States State: Wyoming County: Teton Location Map Graphic Information

Location Map showing Grand Teton National Park within the State of Wyoming.

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Boundary UTM

Boundary UTM Source

Boundary UTM Source Explanatory Narrative

Boundary UTM Type

Boundary UTM Datum

Boundary UTM Zone

Boundary UTM Easting

Boundary UTM Northing

Boundary Datum Other

Other Taken from 2005 DOE

Point NAD 83 12 518376 4834840

Other Taken from 2005 DOE

Point NAD 83 12 518691 4834843

Other Taken from 2005 DOE

Point NAD 83 12 518691 4834642

Other Taken from 2005 DOE

Point NAD 83 12 518514 4834640

Other Taken from 2005 DOE

Point NAD 83 12 518377 4834770

Regional Landscape Context Physiographic Description: Grand Teton National Park encompasses the majestic Teton Range and much of Jackson Hole, a large upland valley cloaked in sagebrush and surrounded by mountains and highlands. The Teton Range is approximately 9 miles wide and 40 miles long, with eight peaks over 12,000 feet in elevation. Jackson Hole ranges in width from 8 to 12 miles and 55 miles in length. The valley climate is extreme, characterized by short summers initiated in late June when heavy frosts recede and terminated by September snow. Ten-foot snowpack accumulations in the mountains are common, while the valley snow cover is generally limited to two to five feet. Despite this snowfall, the valley is semi-arid, with an average annual precipitation of 10 inches. Temperatures range from an average high of 81°F in the height of summer to an average high of 25°F in the depths of winter. The region’s distinctive topographical features are the result of the geological forces of mountain building and glaciation. The Teton fault divides the range from the adjoining valley, which drops in elevation as the mountains rise. Glacial activity created the moraines that formed the basins and sides of piedmont lakes—Leigh, Jenny, Bradley, Taggart, String, and Phelps. Located at the north end of the valley, Jackson Lake is a natural lake enlarged by a man-made dam. Forested ridges contrast sharply with surrounding gray-green sagebrush flats, a distinctive element of the landscape at Jackson Hole. The valley floor is covered with quartzite cobbles, another souvenir of the glacial eras. The Snake River courses through Jackson Hole along a cottonwood and spruce-lined channel. It originates near the south boundary of Yellowstone National Park and flows into Jackson Lake. Below the Jackson Lake Dam, the Snake River flows east then abruptly turns to the southwest cutting a diagonal path through Jackson Hole to Idaho. Three important tributaries feed the Snake River from the east: Pacific Creek, the Buffalo Fork of the Snake, and the Gros Ventre River. Ditch Creek and Spread Creek also enter the Snake River above Moose, Wyoming. The river and its tributaries provide habitat for a wide variety of plants and animals. Beavers, otters, moose, bears, deer, eagles, ospreys, trumpeter swans, and trout are among the wildlife in the region. The ecosystem also supports the largest herd of elk in the world.

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Cultural Description: Various cultural affiliations have defined the history of Jackson Hole. At least 18 tribal groups used that area now known as Grand Teton National Park for subsistence, trade, ceremonial, or other purposes, including the Crow, Blackfeet, Gros Ventre, and Shoshonis (Walker Research Group, Ltd., 2007). The land was used sporadically in the hospitable summer months yet foresworn as a long-term habitation site. The rivers, streams, ponds, and willow thickets that define the Snake River and Gros Ventre watersheds once supported an abundant beaver population. Fur trapper John Colter is thought to have entered the valley in 1807, followed eleven years later by Donald MacKenzie of the British North West Company and by William Sublette, Jedediah Smith, and David Jackson of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. The upper Green River basin proved a more convenient location for the annual trappers’ rendezvous, and no trading post or fort was ever established in Jackson Hole. Resources associated with this period of the valley’s history are thus intangible: these men trapped in the rivers, traversed and mapped the valleys and passes, and left a legacy of exploration and of nomenclature: most notably Les Trois Tetons (The Three Breasts) and Jackson’s Hole, shortened in recent decades to Jackson Hole. Circa 1865, prospectors followed the fur trappers, traveling through Jackson Hole to the Yellowstone country along the Snake River. They found a region void of significant mineral deposits. The explorers of the “scientific frontier,” U.S. Government scientists supported by congressional appropriations and charged with a study of the West’s topography, geology, ethnology, found more of interest in the valley. Ferdinand V. Hayden, whose 1871 survey of the Yellowstone country contributed to creation of the first national park, traveled to Jackson Hole in 1872. Though widely disputed, Hayden and Nathaniel Langford claimed the first documented EuroAmerican ascent of the Grand Teton. However, most sources question the verity of this claim, and cite the actual first EuroAmerican ascent 25 years later by William O. Owen. Photographer William H. Jackson also took the first photographic images of the Teton Range from Idaho during this era. Although spectacularly beautiful, these mountains isolated Jackson Hole from the primary travel routes of western settlement and fostered and held the heavy snow and bitter cold of Jackson Hole’s long winters and corresponding short growing seasons. The first wave of western settlement was along the Oregon and California trails. Later, on the heels of Homestead legislation, settlers came in search of well-watered, fertile land. As productive farmland elsewhere became scarce, as railroads entered Wyoming and Montana, as auto roads mitigated Jackson Hole’s isolation, and as Mormon pioneers moved east from the Salt Lake Basin, Jackson Hole witnessed a turn-of-the-century settlement boom. Although a number of homesteaders settled in Jackson Hole in the late 19th century, most ranching operations had little success due to harsh environmental conditions. As a result, a number of true farms and ranches became dude ranches early in the 20th century. Jackson Hole’s spectacular scenery, abundant wildlife, and ranching culture engendered a tourist industry that, by the1950s, accounted for more than 70% of the region’s economy. In 1908, Louis Joy and Struthers Burt opened Jackson Hole’s first dude ranch, the JY Ranch. The Bar BC, White Grass, Ramshorn, Double Diamond, STS, and numerous other ranches (some constructed as dude ranches, some representing converted homesteads) soon followed. The tourist industry was sustained not only by Americans’ fascination with the Old West but by the conservation of the region’s biotic and scenic resources. In 1929, Congress set aside a portion of the present-day Grand Teton National Park, encompassing the Teton Range and piedmont lakes. With establishment of the national park came administrative responsibilities, including the management of concessioners, the development of appropriate architectural guidelines, and the construction of backcountry tourist and administrative trails, fire-guard and patrol cabins, administrative headquarters, and ranger stations.

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Political Description: Political actions have also affected the settlement of Jackson Hole. Executive Order Number 4685, issued by President Calvin Coolidge on July 7, 1927, (closing much of Jackson Hole to homestead entry) and a subsequent executive order issued by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on March 15, 1943, (creating Jackson Hole National Monument) dramatically affected the area. The first date essentially marked the end of the homestead era; the second marked the end of the settlement era, with the important exception of continued private land transactions. Jackson Hole National Monument was later combined with Grand Teton National Park (established in 1929) in 1950. That same year, the park was expanded to include additional acres owned by the Snake River Land Company. Management Information Management Category: Should be Preserved and Maintained Management Category Date: 10/9/2007 Management Category Explanatory Narrative: The Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office

concurred that the Sky Ranch was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Therefore, the property should be preserved and maintained.

Management Agreement Management Agreement: None. Management Agreement Expiration Date: NA Management Agreement Explanatory Narrative: The Sky Ranch property was formerly part of a

life lease; however, as of 2011, the NPS owns the property in fee simple.

NPS Legal Interest Type of Legal Interest: Fee Simple Fee Simple Reservation for Life: NA Fee Simple Reservation Expiration Date: NA NPS Legal Interest Explanatory Narrative: The National Park Service owns the Sky Ranch

in fee simple, no encumbrances. Public Access to Site Public Access: Other restrictions. Public Access Explanatory Narrative: The site is accessible to the public via non-

motorized access (hiking in summer, skiing/snowshoeing in winter); the road is limited

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to administrative use. The building interiors are also limited to administrative use, as they currently serve as residences.

National Register Information National Register Landscape Documentation: SHPO-Documented National Register Explanatory Narrative: A Determination of Eligibility (DOE) was

completed for the Sky Ranch Historic District in 2005. The Wyoming SHPO concurred with the DOE, stating that the property was eligible for listing in the National Register. However, the DOE failed to list the landscape features as contributing or non-contributing. This CLI, based on the 2005 DOE, categorizes the key landscape features as contributing and non-contributing.

National Register Eligibility: (To be filled in upon SHPO concurrence.) National Register Eligibility Concurrence Date: (To be filled in upon SHPO concurrence.) National Register Concurrence Explanatory Narrative: Wyoming SHPO concurred with the 2005 DOE

on October 9, 2007. National Register Significance Level: Local National Register Significance Individual Contributing/Individual: National Register Classification: District National Historic Landmark Status: No National Historic Landmark Date: NA National Historic Landmark Theme: NA World Heritage Site Status: No World Heritage Site Date: NA World Heritage Category: NA Statement of Significance: Summary Statement of Significance The Sky Ranch Historic District is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places at the local level, with significance in history and architecture (Criteria A and C). The district’s period of significance begins in 1952, when the site was purchased by the Balderston family, and extends to 1982 when the Balderston family sold the property to the NPS with a 25-year lease in which the family could continue to occupy the property. Its use and physical appearance, including landscape and associated features, have remained virtually unaltered since 1953, when all but one of the buildings were constructed.

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The Sky Ranch Historic District is significant as a vacation home under Criterion A and the “settlement context” as defined in the Grand Teton National Park Multiple Property Submission (GTNP – MPS). Sky Ranch is significantly associated with the settlement context, representing the later period of settlement of the Snake River valley, when families who had spent time at dude ranches and/or friends’ vacation homes in Grand Teton National Park purchased property for themselves. It is an excellent example of a post-World War II vacation property, developed in 1952-53, after the creation of Grand Teton National Park (GTNP). Unlike the other National Register-listed vacation homes in GTNP, such as the AMK Ranch and the Brinkerhoff, this property is a simple, rustic, family retreat, rather than a place to entertain and impress guests. Additional areas of significance include entertainment/recreation, social history, and conservation. Sky Ranch functioned primarily as a place for family entertainment and recreation. However, the owners were also active in the social life of GTNP and Jackson Hole, and counted among their friends many well known people in the area, including ranchers, dude ranchers and vacationers. In both its design and its use, Sky Ranch is a manifestation of the conservation ethic as practiced not by scientists but by private individuals with a great love and respect for nature. The extensive documentary material relating to Sky Ranch helps support and provide evidence for the significance of the property. Original owner William (Bill) Balderston II was an avid photographer and committed diarist throughout his life, and he thoroughly documented his family’s summertime activities, and visits with friends. The construction of Sky Ranch, its use as a place for recreation and family gatherings, and its role in the social history of GTNP in the mid-1900s, are well documented in diaries, photographs, 16 mm movies, business records and the personal memories of the heirs of William Balderston II. Sky Ranch is also eligible under Criterion C, as an excellent and well preserved example of a Rustic style vacation home, designed by a prominent Philadelphia architect. Criterion A – Settlement, Entertainment/Recreation, Social History, Conservation William Balderston II first came to the Snake River valley in May 1914, when he was hired to work as a surveyor on the engineering crew for the Jackson Lake Enlargement Project. A skillful amateur photographer, Balderston was soon assigned to be the official “progress photographer” for the project, in addition to his surveying duties. After spending two years in the valley, Balderston left Jackson Hole for the University of Wisconsin where he earned a degree in civil engineering. The magic of the Tetons had captured his imagination, however, and he always dreamed of returning to the valley. “I will never forget my first view of the magnificent Teton Range as we made our way up the valley in wagons [from Victor, Idaho],” he told a reporter for the Jackson Hole Guide in 1973. His work on the Jackson Lake Dam gave him an opportunity to fish, hike, ride horses, canoe and pursue other outdoor interests on weekends, the start of what would be a life-long love of the outdoors. Balderston went on to have a successful career as an engineer, pioneering the use of the radio in cars, and radar in airplanes. He worked his way up in the electronics industry, starting work for his father-in-law at Ray-O-Vac and joining Philco Corporation in 1930. He became executive vice president of Philco in 1946, and served as president from 1948 until his retirement in 1957. For his role in developing and mass producing large quantities of advanced airborne radar and other electronic equipment during World War II, Balderston was awarded the Certificate of Merit by President Truman in 1947. Throughout his successful career, Balderston never forgot his early experience in the Tetons, and he returned to the Jackson area often with his wife Susan and their four children. When visiting the Jackson area, they often stayed at the White Grass Ranch, owned by fellow Philadelphian Frank Galey. Galey introduced the Balderstons to many regular summer people in GTNP, who became part of the Balderstons’ wide circle of friends.

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On a visit to the White Grass Ranch in 1952, Balderston persuaded Galey to sell him “five acres of the northwest section of the White Grass, the area to be picked by you [Balderston], for the sum of $5,000” (Balderston Collection, Galey file). This property was named Sky Ranch, for what his wife called Bill Balderston’s 35-year “dream in the sky” of owning property in the valley. The original 5-acre parcel was expanded to 13.43 acres the following year, to allow room for a small barn and corral. Soon after his purchase of the property, Balderston hired Philadelphia architect John Arnold Bower to design a small complex of buildings, where the family could gather in the summers. He hired Jackson contractor Jack Kranenberg to construct the buildings, and paid Frank Galey $500 to oversee the project. Bower designed, and Kranenberg built, three main buildings: the main cabin, known as the “Grand;” a small cabin for Balderston’s two unmarried sisters, known as “Aunt Hill;” and a combination living quarters and tool shed for Balderston’s employees, a German couple named Ray and Anna Braitinger and their daughter Marlicia, known as “Ray and Anna’s Cabin.” A bathhouse (originally a house for the generator) was also built just to the north and west of the Grand cabin, and a barn and corrals were constructed in the far northeast corner of the property. In 1969, a log kit-home was constructed to the north of the other buildings, to accommodate Balderston’s growing family. This cabin is known as “Sky Bunk.” Bill Balderston’s involvement in the construction of Sky Ranch is documented in his correspondence with Frank Galey and Jack Kranenberg. His Philadelphia architect specified certain things, such as 18-inch below grade foundations and a high load-rated roof, which Kranenberg thought were unnecessary, but Balderston insisted upon. At one point Balderston complained about the height of the foundation. “I don’t think it ought to be so high up in the air,” he writes to Frank, “be sure that he keeps the house down just as low as possible” (Galey file, 9/22/52). A primary goal of Balderston was to avoid disturbing the beauty of the site, and this is apparent both in his correspondence and in studying the landscape of the site today. Cabins were sited on the hillside where forest gives way to meadow, to avoid cutting down trees. A minimum amount of land was disturbed in the process of building. A small area was scooped out with a backhoe, and the dirt spread out to form a terrace slightly larger than the building. Each building was sited to face east/southeast, with a view of the Gros Ventre Range and the meadows of the White Grass Ranch in the foreground. This conservation ethic extends to the entire site. Very little disturbance of the natural landscape is evident. Domestic plantings are confined to small grassy plots surrounding the cabins. A single road leads from the gate to the cabins and loops around to the barn and corrals, and only a small number of social trails traverse the property. Settlement Sky Ranch is representative of the shift in land values that defined the 20th century economy of the scenic West. As described in the Grand Teton National Park Multiple Property Submission,

“Attracted to the unspoiled scenery, the abundant hunting and fishing, and relative isolation the Rocky Mountains afforded, many affluent visitors came to the mountains and nearby valleys to vacation during the summer months. While some invested in lands with the intention of developing them into operating ranches, farms or mines, others simply bought the land for its real estate value or to build vacation homes…The railroad and then the automobile transported increasingly large numbers of seasonal visitors to the Rocky Mountain West, in search of a sportsman’s adventure or a relaxing and healthful vacation. Few

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were disappointed. A significant number returned to compete for the ownership of dwindling supplies of public domain” (GTNP-MPS, E 18).

Sky Ranch represents the later settlement of the Jackson Hole area, which was (and still is) largely a result of seasonal visitors who fall in love with the landscape, scenery and romance of the West. Bill Balderston II was a former worker in the valley who returned as a dude rancher and vacationer, and eventually acquired property of his own. Attracted during his youth by the beautiful scenery, the wildlife and the recreational opportunities in Jackson Hole, he held the dream of returning and owning property in the valley for almost forty years. By building Sky Ranch, Balderston became part of a settlement pattern that shaped Jackson Hole in the 20th century. Entertainment/Recreation Sky Ranch is representative of the culture of dude ranching and vacationing in Grand Teton National Park. Like GTNP itself, it was a place to conserve and enjoy nature, and to share that experience with friends and family. Like thousands of other people, Bill Balderston II harbored a life-long dream to live in the Jackson Hole area. Like many of his contemporaries in the valley, he became a successful businessman and eventually acquired the means to realize his dream. But unlike many of his contemporaries, he was less interested in building a showplace to entertain friends, and more interested in building a simple retreat for his family. Following the trend of vacation homes in GTNP, Sky Ranch was designed to be used only in the summer, although family members occasionally stayed at the ranch over Christmas vacation. Balderston envisioned Sky Ranch as a place where his growing family could gather in the summers, to reconnect and to share in the enjoyment of nature. In his letters to Frank Galey in 1952, he talks about his anticipated use of the ranch. He looked forward to sharing his love of the outdoors and appreciation of nature with family and friends. “I have the whole Balderston family taking riding lessons this winter…we have also started shooting clay pigeons every Sunday so we can get our shooting eye sharpened up for those sage hens” (Galey file, 11/17/52). The use of the property is well documented in Balderston’s diaries which he kept daily while at the ranch, and in letters written to him by his children, grandchildren and friends who visited Sky Ranch. Typical of the sentiments expressed is a letter from Bill Balderston III, written after a two-week visit to Sky Ranch. The letter contains a long list of memorable highlights of the visit, including fishing, hiking, horseback riding, cookouts, rodeo, an evening at the Wort Hotel/Bar, and “our walk in the evening down to the Trail Ranch meadow,” a tradition carried on by the family until the property fully transferred to the National Park Service in 2005. He also mentions the “great feeling of ‘familyness’ that there always is at Sky.” He ends with a message that seems to sum up the use of the place. “It’s great to be able to be with you at Sky each year, it gives us a chance to sort of renew acquaintances and re-establish our ties…Also for the kids, to have the opportunity to get to know their grandparents and hopefully learn some of your fine traits and attributes” (letter from Bill Balderston III to his parents, undated). As indicated by the letter quoted above, summers at Sky Ranch were times to relax, enjoy nature, watch wildlife and reconnect with friends and family. Horseback riding, hiking, playing with kids, reading, talking – these quiet pursuits occupied most of the time. The buildings themselves, modest in size and simply furnished in a rustic style, reflect the desire for a simpler lifestyle that many 20th-century American vacationers were looking for. A tool shed built on to Ray and Anna’s cabin provided family members with a small workshop for “handyman” projects such as building fences or swings for children, another manifestation of the activities of the “simple life.” As was the custom for summer vacationers in Jackson Hole, the horses that were so important to life at Sky Ranch were not owned by the family, but rather were rented for the summer.

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Education was also a part of life at Sky Ranch. Spending time in this environment, children learned about their family history, and learned to appreciate nature, quiet, and the simple pleasures of life. Sky Ranch is also significant for its connection with White Grass Ranch, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Sky Ranch was originally part of the meadow and forest lands of White Grass, and was purchased from White Grass owner Frank Galey five years before Galey sold most of his property to the National Park Service. The land transaction documents state that the owners and guests of Sky Ranch would have unlimited use of the White Grass facilities: a guest at Sky Ranch was considered a guest of White Grass. “Sellers agree to give buyer a written agreement that he, his family and his house guests shall have the use of the facilities of the White Grass Ranch (while it is owned by the present sellers) at their established rates” (Agreement for Warranty Deed, September 3, 1952). The Balderstons stayed at White Grass before and during construction of Sky Ranch, and White Grass was the place of choice for friends to stay when Sky Ranch was full. In effect, Sky Ranch provided additional guest space for the White Grass, while the White Grass provided additional recreation and entertainment opportunities for Sky Ranch guests. Social History The Balderstons were part of the 1950s social scene of dude ranchers, vacation home owners, and year-round residents in GTNP, especially the White Grass Ranch. Balderston’s diaries paint a vivid picture of the cadence of summer life in GTNP, and document how people used places like Sky Ranch and White Grass Ranch. Because it is virtually unchanged from the time it was built, Sky Ranch itself provides a glimpse into the environment in which these interactions took place. At the end of a day of hiking, horseback riding, or quieter pursuits, there might be cocktails on the porch, watching the wildlife and the sunset, long visits over dinner and perhaps an after-dinner walk, sometimes with the family, and other times with friends who figure prominently in the social history of the valley, such as Alfred and Madeleine Berol, Irving and Maggie Corse, Cliff and Martha Hansen, the Craigheads, Olaus and Mardy Murie, Frank and Inge Galey, the Bettys, the Dornans, Archie Teater and others. The assistance of the Balderstons’ employees, Ray and Anna Braitinger, made these social events possible. Children were also recruited to park cars and otherwise help out. Although he spent most of his adult life in Philadelphia, Bill Balderston II was one of a great many Easterners who were entranced by the Western lifestyle, as well as its beauty. While guests at the AMK Ranch were required to “dress” for dinner, guests at Sky Ranch were urged to shed their “Eastern clothes” soon after they arrived, and change into their “Western clothes.” Balderston and his Philadelphia friends who visited him at Sky Ranch, or stayed at White Grass Ranch, would get together during the winter to reminisce about their summer adventures and share photographs and home movies. Blue jeans and boots were required dress at these occasions. Sky Ranch was built toward the end of the golden age of dude ranching, at a time when Americans had become less interested in spending a week or two, or even longer, at one place, and were opting instead for the greater freedom of automobile touring. It represents a type of vacation that was once common among the upper classes in the United States, but has become quite rare now. As Cindy Aron observes in Working at Play, the idyllic family retreat at the shore or in the mountains, where focus is on family and nature, is today increasingly disrupted by work; laptop computers, cell phones, and faxes have invaded the peaceful environment. Most families are no longer able to schedule a two week vacation, let alone a whole summer spent at a family retreat. Most vacation homes today are used for days, as opposed to weeks, at a time. Thus, Sky Ranch represents a type of vacation home that has become increasingly rare in American society.

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Conservation William Balderston II was not a scientific conservationist like his friends Olaus and Mardy Murie, but he loved and respected the wilderness, and hiked and packed into the backcountry from his youth until well into his 70s. His conservation ethic carried over to the construction of Sky Ranch. The importance of conservation in the development and use of Sky Ranch is apparent both from historical sources and from observing the site itself. In his letters to Frank Galey, for example, Balderston expresses a conscious desire to keep the site as pristine as possible, and to keep the buildings from intruding on the view. The specifications for the Grand cabin state, “Care must be taken not to disturb or alter small stream running by building site.” Materials were not wasted. The many log pieces and ends leftover from constructing the buildings were sawn to a uniform length and set in the ground as patio pavers and foot paths. Unlike the AMK Ranch and Brinkerhoff, located in GTNP, Sky Ranch was a modest place, providing the minimum amount of room and comfort needed for the family and their friends. Sky Ranch could accommodate twenty-three guests at a time, with only 3,300 square feet of total living space, a tiny fraction of what would be found on a typical vacation property in the valley today. At Sky Ranch, one has the sense of being in the landscape, as opposed to overlooking it. The design of the site reflects a philosophy of adapting the buildings to fit the land, rather than bending the land to one’s needs. The buildings relate to the natural setting, in size, color, design and siting. They are sited at the lower edge of the forest, although placing them higher up might afford better views. Landscape changes were kept to a minimum; for example the outdoor cooking area was small, with paving made of log ends and a low, metal grill – unlike the large, stone barbeque structures found on many vacation properties in the valley. Water was provided by a water catchment system that utilizes existing springs with minimal visual impact on the natural landscape. Roads were undeveloped, with small culverts installed instead of re-routing streams. Most of the natural landscape has been left untouched. Criterion C – Architecture, Landscape Architecture Sky Ranch also meets the National Register requirements for significance as an example of Rustic architecture. As described in the GTNP-MPS, the Rocky Mountain Rustic style evolved from the pioneer vernacular, and is characterized by the use of native timber and stone, crafted by local craftsman using traditional techniques. “Rustic architecture represented the deliberate attempt – usually an architect's deliberate attempt – to convey historical images and to meld man-made resources with their wilderness environment” (GTNP-MPS, E 41). Architect John Arnold Bower was a prolific designer of period homes in the Philadelphia area, and a personal friend of William Balderston. Sky Ranch was his only project outside of Pennsylvania and New Jersey; in fact, his first trip west of the Mississippi was to see the buildings he designed at Sky Ranch. The Sky Ranch buildings imitate the vernacular style of Jackson Hole’s early settlement period, 1884-1927, and can be identified as typical of the “ranch form” (GTNP-MPS, E 33). They are basically rectangular in plan, with low, eave-front gable roofs supported by log purlins and rafters, with exposed tips. They are constructed with local building materials (logs and stone), using traditional building techniques. Logs are saddle-notched and chinked with quarter-split lodgepole pine. The peeled, round logs serve as both exterior and interior walls. The three original residential buildings, the Grand, Aunt Hill and Ray and Anna’s cabins, were carefully crafted by a Norwegian crew under the supervision of contractor Jack Kranenberg, an experienced log builder who constructed many log structures in the Jackson Hole area, including the interior of the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, the Rancher Bar, the Bridger-Teton National Forest

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headquarters, and the Jackson State Bank on the square in Jackson. Kranenberg was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1909, and moved to Teton County in 1927, where he developed the art of log building and furniture making while working on the Square G Ranch at Jenny Lake. Kranenberg Construction was the largest employer in the valley for several years following World War II. The Sky Ranch buildings reflect an exceptional level of skill. Care was taken to match the logs in size and shape. Soon after construction started, some of the logs had to be removed when it was discovered that the logs on the second truckload were larger than those of the first. Logs were saddle-notched on both sides and the log ends hewn into points, a technique used to keep water from seeping into the log ends. The hewn ends, whose points lay in a seemingly haphazard pattern, also add to the rustic appearance of the log buildings. Lodgepole pines were quarter-split by hand and carefully scribed to the logs to create tight, weatherproof chinking. Roofs were originally No. 1 grade, sawn cedar shingles, laid in a pattern with shingles doubled every 7th row to break up the monotony of the roof and provide texture, a technique used on many early 20th-century National Park Service buildings. The roofs on the Grand and Aunt Hill cabins have been covered with metal roofing, but Ray and Anna’s Cabin and the bathhouse still exhibit the original roofing pattern. Stone for chimneys and fireplaces was secured from the nearby Gros Ventre Slide, and was laid up rough and undressed, for a rustic appearance. Steps up to the porches were constructed of logs cut in half, and operating board and batten shutters were installed on the windows. The Rustic style is carried over into the interior of the buildings, with exposed log walls, wood floors, stone fireplaces, custom doors made of knotty pine, knotty pine paneling and wrought iron hardware. Rustic furniture such as bunk beds, writing desks and a dining room table and chairs were ordered locally, “from the man who runs the Silver Spur Café in Jackson” (Galey file, 3/2/53). Another character-defining feature of the Rustic style was integration of the building with its setting (GTNPMPS, F 76). Sky Ranch buildings are sited along a hillside, at the juncture of meadow and forest. Only a minimal amount of land was disturbed in the construction of the buildings, and each of the residential buildings sits on a small, flat area. The cabins themselves are low, one-story buildings, designed to intrude as little as possible on the natural setting. The logs are stained a sage-gray color to blend in with the meadow in front of them. Other Rustic features of the landscape include a picturesque buck and rail fence, another reference to early homestead architecture in Jackson Hole. Balderston specified that the fence be three-rail instead of four: “high enough to keep the horses and cattle out, but not to shut out the game” (Galey 3/2/53). The barn and corral were the minimum construction needed to shelter a few horses for summer use. Balderston contracted with local builder Ted Hartgrave to construct the three-rail buck fence, and to build “a small barn and corral on the eastern end of the property. The barn will be of inexpensive construction and will really be a sort of a fly shed with room to store a few saddles and some baled hay.” NRIS Information Park Alpha Code/ NRIS Name (Number): NA Other National Register Name: NA Primary Certification Date: NA National Register Significance Criteria

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National Register Significance Criteria: A – X B – C– X D -

National Register Significance Criteria Considerations National Register Criteria Consideration: None. National Register Period of Significance

Start Year: 1952 AD End Year: 1982 AD

Historic Context Theme Historic Context Theme: Creating Social Institutions and Movements Historic Context Subtheme: Recreation Historic Context Facet: General Recreation Other Historic Facet NA Historic Context Theme: Creating Social Institutions and Movements Historic Context Subtheme: Recreation Historic Context Facet: Tourism Other Historic Facet NA Historic Context Theme: Developing the American Economy Historic Context Subtheme: Other Historic Context Facet: NA Other Historic Facet Dude Ranching Historic Context Theme: Expressing Cultural Values Historic Context Subtheme: Architecture Historic Context Facet: Vernacular Architecture Other Historic Facet NA National Register Areas of Significance Area of Significance Category: Settlement

Architecture Entertainment/recreation Social history Conservation Landscape architecture

Chronology and Physical History Primary Historic Function - Major Category: Domestic Primary Historic Function - Category: Single Family Dwelling Primary Historic Function: Single Family Dwelling, Other

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Primary Current Use - Major Category: Domestic Primary Current Use - Category: Multiple Dwelling Primary Current Use: Multiple Dwelling, Other Ethnographic Study Conducted: No Survey Conducted. Ethnographic Significance Description: NA Cultural Landscape Types Cultural Landscape Type: Vernacular Landscape Other Current and Historic Uses/Functions Other Historic Function – Major Category: Domestic Other Historic Function – Category: Small Residential Landscape Other Historic Function or Current Use: NA Other Historic Function of Current Use Type: Historic Other Historic Function – Major Category: Domestic Other Historic Function – Category: Single Family Dwelling Other Historic Function or Current Use: Cabin Other Historic Function of Current Use Type: Historic Other Historic Function – Major Category: Recreation/Culture Other Historic Function – Category: Outdoor Recreation Other Historic Function or Current Use: Outdoor Recreation, Other Other Historic Function of Current Use Type: Historic Other Historic Function – Major Category: Agriculture/Subsistence Other Historic Function – Category: Agricultural Outbuilding Other Historic Function or Current Use: Barn Other Historic Function of Current Use Type: Historic Other Historic Function – Major Category: Agriculture/Subsistence Other Historic Function – Category: Irrigation Facility Other Historic Function or Current Use: NA Other Historic Function of Current Use Type: Historic Other Historic Function – Major Category: Agriculture/Subsistence Other Historic Function – Category: Livestock Other Historic Function or Current Use: NA Other Historic Function of Current Use Type: Historic Other Historic Function – Major Category: Landscape Other Historic Function – Category: Leisure-Passive (Park) Other Historic Function or Current Use: N/A Other Historic Function of Current Use Type: Both current and historic Other Historic Function – Major Category: Landscape Other Historic Function – Category: Natural Area Other Historic Function or Current Use: Natural Area - Other Other Historic Function of Current Use Type: Both current and historic

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Other Historic Function – Major Category: Landscape Other Historic Function – Category: Natural Area Other Historic Function or Current Use: Wetland Other Historic Function of Current Use Type: Both current and historic Other Historic Function – Major Category: Landscape Other Historic Function – Category: Scenic Landscape Other Historic Function or Current Use: View Other Historic Function of Current Use Type: Both current and historic Other Historic Function – Major Category: Landscape Other Historic Function – Category: Functional Landscape Other Historic Function or Current Use: Vehicular Circulation Other Historic Function of Current Use Type: Both current and historic Other Historic Function – Major Category: Landscape Other Historic Function – Category: Functional Landscape Other Historic Function or Current Use: Pedestrian Circulation Other Historic Function of Current Use Type: Both current and historic Ethnographic Associated Groups Ethnographic Associated Group Name: NA Current and Historic Names

Current and Historic Name Type of Current and Historic Name

Sky Ranch Both Historic and Current

Sky Ranch Historic District Both Historic and Current

48TE1172 Both Historic and Current Chronology Start Year of Major Event

Start Era AD/BC of Major Event

End Year of Major Event

End Era AD/BC of Major Event

Major Event Major Event Description

1914 AD 1916 AD Established William Balderston II first comes to the Snake River valley as a surveyor for the Jackson Lake Enlargement Project. He stays for 2 years.

1916 AD 1916 AD Established Balderston II attends the University of Wisconsin and earns a degree in civil engineering.

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1930 AD 1957 AD Established Balderston II works at Philco Corporation, eventually becoming president in 1948 and retiring in 1957.

1947 AD 1947 AD Memorialized Balderston II receives the Certificate of Merit from President Truman.

1952 AD 1952 AD Purchased/Sold Balderston II visits White Grass Ranch in the Teton valley and persuades Frank Galey to sell him 5 acres of the northwest section of the White Grass Ranch.

1952 AD 1953 AD Designed Balderston II hires John Arnold Bower, a Philadelphia architect, to design a complex of buildings on his property. Jack Kranenberg is hired to construct the buildings.

1953 AD 1953 AD Purchased/Sold Balderston II purchases additional acreage from Galey, enlarging his property to 13.43 acres. The acreage is known as Sky Ranch.

1953 AD 1953 AD Built The "Grand" main cabin (#1182) is built.

1953 AD 1953 AD Built Aunt Hill cabin (#1183) is built. 1953 AD 1953 AD Built Ray and Anna's cabin (#1184) is built. 1953 AD 1953 AD Built Circa 1953. A structure is built to

house a generator that supplies electricity to the ranch. It is later converted into a bathhouse (#1185).

1953 AD 1953 AD Built A 5000-gallon cistern (#1187) is built. 1953 AD 1953 AD Built A barn (#1188) is built at Sky Ranch. 1953 AD 1953 AD Built A 2-rail, buck and rail corral (#1189) Is

constructed. 1953 AD 2005 AD Established Sky Ranch provides additional guest

space for White Grass Ranch, while White Grass provided additional recreation and entertainment opportunities for Sky Ranch guests.

1953 AD 2005 AD Established At its maximum capacity, Sky Ranch offers 3300 square feet of living space for 23 guests.

1953 AD 2005 AD Maintained Sky Ranch is continuously used by the Balderston family as a family vacation retreat.

1969 AD 1969 AD Built Sky Bunk (#1186), a log kit home, is built.

1980 AD 1989 AD Removed 1980s. Douglas-fir trees are removed from the property; only the stumps

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remain.

1982 AD 1982 AD Purchased/Sold The Balderston family sells the property to the NPS with a 25-year term under which the family could continue to occupy the property.

1985 AD 1989 AD Built Late 1980s. A tree fort is constructed, built with lots nailed to six trees and plywood decking.

1990 AD 1999 AD Altered 1990s. Standing-seam metal roofs are installed over the original cedar shingles at the main cabin (#1182), Aunt Hill cabin (#1183).

1997 AD 1997 AD Repaired Fencing along the south and east boundaries of the ranch is repaired.

2005 AD 2005 AD Established A Determination of Eligibility is completed for Sky Ranch. The property is found to be determined eligible for listing in the National Register, but is not formally listed.

2005 AD 2005 AD Land Transfer The term allowing the Balderston family to occupy the site expires. The property is fully transferred to the National Park Service.

2011 AD 2011 AD Established A CLI is completed for Sky Ranch based on the 2005 Determination of Eligibility.

Analysis and Evaluation of Integrity Sky Ranch's historic landscape and buildings possess remarkable integrity of location, materials, workmanship, design, feeling, association and setting. The setting has not changed since the property was built in 1952. All of the buildings have excellent integrity in terms of materials, workmanship and design. The design of the buildings to blend into the landscape is readily apparent. The property possesses the feeling and association of a mid-20th century vacation retreat and is an excellent representation of both of the later settlement period in Jackson Hole, and the Rustic architecture style as developed in the Jackson Hole area. As a cultural landscape, the Sky Ranch Historic District also contains a very high degree of integrity. Photographs taken in the 1950s show the site much as it appears today, with the only addition being the Sky Bunk cabin in c.1969. The Balderston family continually used the property in the way it was envisioned by the original owner, William Balderston II, continuing a family tradition for more than 50 years. Landscape Characteristics 1. ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES:

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No known archeological sites exist on this property. However, some archeological sites such as trash dumps may date to the period of significance. In the future, the property needs to be surveyed. CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: Potential archeological sites dating to the period of significance NON-CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: Potential archeological sites dating before or after the period of significance 2. BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES: Buildings and structures on the property are related to either domestic or agricultural land uses. The domestic cluster consists of three cabins, a combination tool shed-servants’ cabin, a bathhouse, and a cistern. The agricultural cluster includes a barn and adjoining corral. All buildings and structures are individually described below. The following buildings and structures are contributing to the property: 1) Grand cabin; 2) Aunt Hill cabin; 3) Ray and Anna’s cabin (the tool shed-servants’ cabin); 4) the bathhouse; 5) the cistern; 6) the barn; and 7) the corral. As noted in the 2005 Determination of Eligibility, Sky Bunk cabin was determined non-contributing due to its architectural style. The Grand #1182, constructed 1953 – Contributing “The Grand,” the main cabin and first building constructed on the property, was built in 1953 and sits near the center of the lot between the Aunt Hill cabin and Ray and Anna’s cabin. The Grand’s (and other residential buildings) orientation to the southeast will be simplified to “east” for purposes of this description as this better reflects the ranch’s setting between the major landmarks of the Tetons to the west and the Snake River valley and Gros Ventre Range to the east. The cabin is situated in a meadow on the eastern edge of a grove of aspen, Douglas-fir and lodgepole pine. It is visible from the Sky Ranch road and the front gate through several trees. The cabin rests on a slightly terraced lawn with a log retaining wall on the east end, and a rock and soil retaining wall on the south, with log-end stepping stones and three half-log steps leading up to it from the meadow below. The Grand cabin is a one-story, 1,650-square-foot, log building, rectangular-shaped with a 10-foot-wide projection at the southwest corner and a 5-foot-wide projection at the northeast corner. The building sits on a low, poured-concrete foundation which narrows from 3 feet at the front of the building to one foot at the rear as a result of the natural slope of the land. The walls are 10 inch-diameter peeled logs, stained a sage-gray color with saddle notching on both sides. Log joints are chinked with shredded redwood bark, topped by quartered lodgepole pine strips carefully scribed for a tight fit. The log ends are hewn to a point in alternating orientations. There is a large (14-by-30-foot) front porch located approximately in the center of the façade, with timber steps, 2-by-6 board decking and three log posts and log beams supporting a shed roof which extends approximately half the width of the porch. Windows are casements, trimmed in wood molding with log sills, and have functional tongue-and-groove board shutters with strap hinges and interior metal screens, except where noted. The façade consists of 5 bays, with openings as follows (from S to N): two pairs of eight-light casement windows, a large picture window flanked by single, 10-light casement windows without shutters, the front entrance, and a pair of smaller, six-light casement windows in the projection at the north end. The entrance is a Dutch door constructed of tongue-and-groovepine, with cross supports and top and bottom strap hinges, with a wood screen door and plain wood trim. Six joist ends, hewn to points, extend over the windows on the south end of the façade.

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The south elevation has four, evenly spaced, eight-light casement windows on the main floor, and a 3-over-3, double-hung attic window with an exterior screen in the gable end. The west elevation has (from S to N) two pairs of eight-light casement windows in the projecting section (there is also a single, eight-light casement window on the north elevation of the projection), a large picture window flanked by single, eight-light casement windows without shutters, a pair of six-light casement windows and a single six-light casement window. There is a Dutch door identical to the front door located to the south of the picture window. A 250-square foot back patio, constructed of log ends buried in the ground, runs in front of the picture window and door. There are six hewn joist ends over the windows in the projecting section, corresponding to those found on the façade. The north elevation has (from E to W) one pair of eight-light casement windows, a single six-light casement window without shutters, and a Dutch door identical to the front door in the west bay. There is an opening in the gable end, similar to the one found on the south elevation, which has been boarded up. A shed roof, supported by two log posts and a log beam, shelters a 7-by-12 foot porch with a log railing, board decking and half-log steps, which leads to the north (kitchen) door. The eave-front, low-pitched gable roof is sheathed in silver-gray, standing-seam metal roofing, which was installed over the original cedar shingles in the 1990s. An intersecting gable tops the projection at the southwest corner. The roof has exposed rafter tips with sawn ends on the eave sides, and exposed purlins and ridge poles with hewn tips in the gable ends. A narrow metal fascia extends around the perimeter of the roof, protecting the log ends from water and snow run-off. There are two chimneys, a large one on the front slope of the roof and a smaller, exterior one on the west elevation. Both are constructed of native stone, laid flat, with concrete mortar. The interior floor plan includes a living/dining room, kitchen, four bedrooms, a den and three baths. The log walls serve as interior as well as exterior finish, with quarter-cut lodge pole chinking nailed in place. The interior face of the logs is stained and varnished to a golden brown. Interior partitions are wood frame, finished in knotty pine paneling. Floors are oak, except the kitchen which has vinyl flooring, and the bathrooms which are floored with linoleum. Purlins, rafters and joists are peeled, round logs, and ceilings are paneled in knotty pine. Exterior doors are Dutch style, made of three layers of tongue-and-groove pine, with 3-foot-long, wrought-iron, strap hinges, and wrought iron latches. Interior doors are of the same construction, but one piece, and also have wrought-iron latches and hinges. Windows and doors are trimmed in plain pine boards. A pull-down staircase in the hallway at the south end of the cabin leads to an attic which is unfinished except for a cedar closet. The living room has a cathedral ceiling with exposed ridge beam and purlins. A massive, 15-foot-long stone wall with large fireplace and stone hearth dominates the room. The half-log mantle is supported by protruding rocks. A chandelier made of a 6-foot-long half log hung from the ridgepole on one-inch chains lights the interior of the living room. The cabin is furnished with oriental rugs and rustic log furniture that matches its Rustic-style architecture. The Grand cabin is in excellent overall condition due to the quality of the original construction and continuous use and maintenance by the owners. Aunt Hill #1183, constructed 1953 – Contributing Approximately 50 feet south of the Grand cabin, situated on a small rise, sits the Aunt Hill cabin, built for Bill Balderston’s two unmarried sisters. The cabin rests on a low, poured-concrete foundation, on a slightly terraced lawn built up with rocks and soil on the north and east sides. Stone steps with a log handrail lead to the cabin from the meadow below. Aunt Hill looks east across the meadow to the Gros Ventre Range. The one-story, 22-by-28-foot cabin is rectangular

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in plan and is capped with an eave-front gable roof. The construction, including peeled-log walls, corner notching, quarter-round chinking, and hewn log ends, matches that of the Grand cabin. The asymmetrical facade contains three bays. A Dutch door, matching that of the Grand cabin and stained sage gray to match the logs, occupies the central bay and is flanked by a large picture window to the south and a single six-light casement window with shutter to the north. A wood frame screen door hangs on the outside. A shed roof with exposed, sawn rafter tips extends from the east slope of the main roof to shelter a 9-by-16-foot porch with a wood deck. Two log posts and a log beam support the porch roof. A chimney of locally quarried stone laid in a regular pattern rises up along the south wall, with a pair of eight-light casement windows to the east, and a single eight-light casement to the west. All windows on this elevation have functional tongue-and-groove board shutters with strap hinges that match those of the Grand cabin. The west elevation contains paired, eight-light casement windows with shutters flanking a central six-light window without shutters. On the north elevation are two, single, eight-light windows, each with a shutter, and a window in the gable end covered with a stationary shutter. The roof is sheathed in silver-gray, standing-seam metal roofing, which was installed over the original cedar shingles in the 1990s. It has exposed rafter, ridgepole and purlin tips matching those of the Grand cabin. The interior of the Aunt Hill cabin is similar in style and materials to that of the Grand cabin, with oak floors, log walls and interior partition walls of knotty pine. It contains a living room with a cathedral ceiling and a large, corner fireplace, two bedrooms, a bathroom and a small kitchen with a sleeping loft above. The cabin is in excellent condition. Ray and Anna’s Cabin #1184, constructed 1953 – Contributing Ray and Anna’s Cabin (servants’ cabin), located approximately 35 feet north of the Grand cabin, is a one-story, L-shaped building, consisting of a 22-by-12-foot living quarters with a 17-by-12 foot tool shed addition. The building faces south with the addition extending back from the northwest corner. Like the Grand and Aunt Hill cabins, the cabin section is built of peeled logs, stained a sage-gray, chinked with quartered lodgepole pine over shredded redwood bark, with saddle notched corners terminating in hewn ends. The addition is a wood-frame structure with log-faced lap siding. The building rests on a low, poured-concrete foundation. The 3-bay facade consists of a central door flanked by double, six-light, casement windows, one slightly offset to the west. Windows match those of the Grand cabin, except that they are trimmed with dimensional lumber instead of molding. The Dutch door and the window shutters match those of the Grand and Aunt Hill cabins. The western window has a pair of shutters while the eastern one has just a single shutter. The west elevation consists of a double casement window, which has been covered with a log-sided, stationary shutter. A single casement window lights the north elevation, and the east elevation has no openings. The living quarters is topped by a medium-pitched, eave-front gable roof, sheathed in cedar shingles, with every seventh row doubled for texture, with exposed, sawn rafter tips. Exposed purlin and ridgepole tips are hewn to points. The 17-by-12-foot, gable-roofed tool shed addition extends to the north, following the west wall of the original cabin. The entrance to the addition is on the east (eave) elevation, at the south end. The door is a Dutch door constructed of vertical boards, like that of the living quarters. A shuttered casement window is on the north elevation, and a shuttered stationary window is on the west. On the east elevation, the eave extends slightly to shelter a narrow (2-foot-wide) porch with a poured-concrete deck. Three log posts and a log beam support the porch roof. The roof is finished to match that of the living quarters. A 30-foot-long, 6-foot-high fence made of vertically

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placed, split lodge poles runs in front of the building on the east, screening the tool shed from view of the road. The interior of the cabin consists of one sleeping/living room with a bathroom and closet. Floors are wood, and walls and ceilings are finished in knotty pine paneling. The tool shed is a single room with a concrete floor and exposed-stud walls. The building is in excellent condition. Bathhouse #1185, constructed c.1953 – Contributing The bathhouse was originally built to house a generator for supplying electricity to Sky Ranch. Once electricity was brought in, and the generator was no longer needed, the building was converted to a bathhouse. The bathhouse is a square, 7-by-7-foot, wood-frame structure resting on a low, poured-concrete foundation, with 10-inch-wide, wood plank, lapped siding. There is a single, vertical-plank wood door with a plain wood frame on the east elevation, and a slightly smaller, double, vertical-plank wood access door on the west. The steep-pitched gable roof is sheathed with cedar shingles with every seventh row doubled for texture, and has exposed rafter tips. A vent pipe extends from the north slope of the roof, near the ridge. The interior has exposed-stud walls and a concrete floor, and houses a shower stall, toilet and sink. The bathhouse is in excellent condition. Sky Bunk #1186, constructed c.1969 – Non-contributing due to architectural style (kit home) Sky Bunk sits about 100 yards northwest of the Grand cabin, and faces directly east. The one story, gable-roofed, 40-by-30-foot kit home is constructed of pre-cut, milled, tongue-and-groove cedar logs, and rests on a low, poured-concrete foundation. The standard window in this building is a casement of three horizontal lights, with plain wood surrounds and a wood lug sill. The asymmetrical facade is composed of three bays. A pair of standard windows makes up the south bay, followed in the center bay by a trio of standard windows. Functional shutters composed of vertical wood planks accompany each window. An aluminum-frame, sliding glass door completes the north bay. A 12-by-10-foot patio composed of log ends buried in the ground lies in front of the sliding glass door. A pair of standard windows with vertical wood-plank shutters lights the east portion of the south elevation while a Dutch door occupies the west end. The door is wood with a nine-light window in the top half. A wood frame projects from the doorframe to hold a screen door. The west elevation consists of a pair of standard windows in the south end, followed by a single, three-light, casement window with textured glass. To the north there is a double, two-light casement window and a large picture window. Standard shutters flank all casement windows on the west elevation except for the single three-light casement, which has a single adjoining shutter. Two pairs of windows, each with a set of shutters, light the north elevation, one on either side of a central chimney. Faced in rustic red stone, the chimney protrudes 2.5 feet from the building and is 8 feet wide. It rises from the ground and tapers two-thirds of the way up to form a square approximately 3-by-3 feet, with a screen cap covering the stack. A low-pitched gable roof, clad in red asphalt shingles, caps the building. The perimeter of the roof is finished with a wood fascia over exposed purlin and rafter tips. Some of the shingles are worn or torn; otherwise the cabin is in very good condition. Cistern #1187, constructed 1953 - Contributing The cistern is a 30-by-10-foot, poured-concrete water storage structure, with a capacity of approximately 5,000 gallons. A gable roof tops the concrete walls, which are partially buried in the ground on the west side. The roof is covered with green asphalt shingles, and finished on the

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gable ends with a wood fascia board. North and south gable ends are sided with vertical siding, with 2-by-2-foot screened openings. A 3-inch-diameter water pipe enters the cistern at the southeast corner, just under the eave. An overflow pipe extends from the south wall. A small box housing a water filter, with a concrete foundation and flat metal top, extends east at the southeast corner, and a 200-gallon-capacity tank sits just to the north of the filter box. The cistern is in good condition, although a few of the asphalt shingles on the east slope of the roof are missing. Barn #1188, constructed 1953 – Contributing The barn is a one-story, rectangular-shaped wood-frame building, approximately 16-by-38-foot, located in the northeast corner of the property. It sits on a flat area down the hill to the east of the Sky Bunk cabin and is oriented to the north. It rests on a low, stone and poured-concrete foundation which, like the foundations of all buildings on the ranch, narrows at the up-slope side of the structure. The walls are sheathed with 12-inch-wide, horizontally overlapping wood planks, stained brown. The barn consists of a central, 20-foot-wide, open loafing area with dirt floor, flanked by two enclosed rooms, a tack room and a feed storage space. The side rooms are accessed by single, vertical-slab wood doors with plain wood frames on the north elevation, and double, wood doors on the south elevation. The east and west elevations both have two, four-light, fixed-pane windows with plain wood frames. The barn has a medium-pitched gable roof covered with silver-gray, galvanized metal roofing, with a shed-roof extension at the back (south). Ridgepole and sill beams extend on the gable ends, and rafter tips are exposed. The barn is in good condition. Corral #1189, constructed 1953 – Contributing A two-rail fence encloses a corral in front of the barn, which is divided into two connected sections, the first being roughly rectangular in size with a gate on the west side, and the second being rounded. The corral is in good condition. CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: The Grand Cabin (#1182) Aunt Hill Cabin (#1183) Ray and Anna’s Cabin (#1184) Bathhouse (#1185) Cistern (#1187) Barn (#1188) Corral (#1189) NON-CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: Sky Bunk (#1186)

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View looking southwest toward the Grand cabin with the concrete pond in the foreground.

Source: National Park Service, 2011.

View looking southeast at the agricultural building cluster in the northeast corner of the district, including the

barn and corral. Source: National Park Service, 2005. 3. CIRCULATION: Sky Ranch is accessed from the Moose-Wilson Road, a paved secondary road that connects Moose with Teton Village and Wilson on the west bank of the Snake River. Approximately three miles south of Moose, the Death Canyon Road heads west off of the Moose-Wilson Road. A

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buck-and-rail fence along the north side of the Death Canyon Road defines the historic boundary of the White Grass Ranch property, approximately one mile up the road. Where the buck-and-rail fence begins is a gate indicating the entrance to the White Grass Dude Ranch. Beyond the gate, the dirt road to White Grass forks off to the left, while the road on the right leads to Sky Ranch. This road traditionally connected important area dude ranches, the Trail Ranch and the White Grass Ranch. Trail Ranch has been removed and what remains of the historic White Grass Ranch is visible from the Sky Ranch road. The dirt, two-track road follows the eastern edge of the White Grass pasture approximately one mile. At the end of the pasture the road forks and a small sign reading “Sky Ranch” marks the left fork. About ¼ mile up this road is the entrance to Sky Ranch. The circulation systems within Sky Ranch are simple, minimal, and designed to have least amount of impact on the view shed and setting. The road leads between the Douglas-fir stand to the north and the sagebrush meadow to the south. About 100 feet past the ranch gate, a two-track road branches off to the right into the forest, leading to the barn and corrals. The main road leads to a parking area north of the Grand cabin. A guest parking area is demarcated by logs northeast of the Grand cabin, in the sagebrush meadow. A less well defined road continues north, passes the Sky Bunk cabin, then turns east heading downhill toward the barn and corrals. It meets with the aforementioned turn-off, creating a loop. A culvert exists near the parking area north of the Grand cabin. A horse trail leads from the two-track road near Sky Bunk cabin west to the Valley Trail. A game trail crosses the property from north to south about halfway up the hillside between the cabins and the Valley Trail. Evidence of an abandoned two-track road is visible from the ranch gate through the sagebrush meadow and leading to the Aunt Hill cabin. Dirt walking paths, and paths paved with log ends buried in the ground, connect the various buildings. Paths constructed of log ends spaced 6 to 10 inches apart lead from the rustic bridge over Bee Wee Creek to the north porch of the Grand cabin, around the north side of the Grand cabin to the front porch, from the guest parking area to the terraced lawn in front of the Grand cabin, and between the front porch of the Grand cabin and the Aunt Hill cabin. CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: Two-track entrance road to Sky Ranch Loop road leading to barn and corrals, Grand cabin, and Sky Bunk cabin Parking area edged with logs north/northeast of Grand cabin Horse trail Dirt paths Log-end paths Bridge over Bee Wee Creek Remnant of abandoned two-track road from ranch gate to Aunt Hill cabin NON-CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: Game Trail 4. CLUSTER ARRANGEMENT: Not used: See Spatial Organization. 5. CONSTRUCTED WATER FEATURES:

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The water catchment system at Sky Ranch provides water to both the domestic buildings and the barn, and feeds a small pond formerly used for irrigation and fire suppression purposes. The system begins at a spring (Balderston Spring) located in the northwest corner of the property. A 2-foot-long steel plate dams water in the small spring. Under the steel plate is the beginning of a 3-inch diameter, plastic pipe. A valve is attached to the pipe to control the water entering the system. The pipe is buried as it travels down hill towards the catchment system, and is marked on the surface by steel posts and small blue markers nailed to aspen trees. The catchment system consists of a plastic tub that is placed in the stream bed, into which water flows from the abovementioned spring, as well as from a smaller spring to the north. A single plastic pipe leaves the downhill side of the tub and continues downhill to the 5,000-gallon concrete cistern, entering the cistern at the southwest corner, just below the gabled roof eave. After leaving the 3-by-3-foot filter structure adjacent to the cistern, the pipe is buried as it leads downhill to a set of concrete boxes with metal tops, one containing valves controlling water to the different structures, another containing an electric pump and heater. The pump is used to increase water pressure in case of fire. About 200 feet of fire hose is located at this pump. The underground pipe runs along the south side of Ray and Anna's (servants’) cabin to two underground shutoff valve boxes near the edge of the cabin. It then continues downhill to a box in the center of the driveway, which contains a shut-off valve. Finally the pipe continues in a northeasterly direction above and below ground to a final spigot on the property’s east edge near the corral and barn. This final spigot provides water for the horses. A second spring begins near the southern side of the property behind the Grand cabin. This spring forms Bee Wee Creek, which follows around the north side of the Grand cabin and flows into a small concrete pond just east of the structure. A small bridge passes over this on a path connecting the Grand cabin with the buildings to the north. The pond was traditionally used for irrigation and fire prevention, as well as a place for children to float boats and practice fly casting. Below the pond the water continues in a ditch, passes under the driveway through a culvert and follows its natural course downhill. CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: Water catchment system Cistern and attached filter structure Valve and electric pump/heater boxes Below-ground spigots Concrete Pond Ditch extending from concrete pond NON-CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: N/A 6. CULTURAL TRADITIONS: The Sky Ranch was built in the tradition of a family retreat, which offered a simple yet comfortable living space in which family and friends could immerse themselves in the natural environment. The property continued a long American tradition of creating an escape from the noise and stress of urban or suburban life, to a simple life consisting of activities such as conversation, writing, working outdoors, horseback riding, wildlife watching and just resting in a natural environment. In this tradition, changes to the natural landscape are kept to a minimum. In design and siting, the buildings on Sky Ranch follow the traditional concept of Rustic architecture in the West, with local materials (log and stone), crafted in a traditional manner to imitate the pioneer structures of Jackson Hole and the West. The form of the buildings follows the

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ranch tradition, as described in the Grand Teton National Park Multiple Property Submission (GNTP-MPS, E 33). Also inherent in the Rustic tradition is the effort to meld the buildings with their surroundings, something that was successfully achieved at Sky Ranch. Four generations of the Balderston family and hundreds of guests adhered to these traditions over the more than 50 years of private ownership or use. This is evident in the buildings and structures, including barns and corrals, which have been meticulously maintained and cared for, and the well-used hiking and riding trails which illustrate the continued use of the land for outdoor recreation. CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: Four generations of the Balderston family usage NON-CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: National Park Service usage 7. LAND USE: The land has traditionally been used for recreation, contemplation and enjoyment of nature and wildlife. Historically the property was part of the White Grass Ranch, and was used for pasturing horses as well as hiking and horseback riding. When the property was purchased by William Balderston II in 1952, the primary use changed to a vacation property, providing a natural setting in which to retreat from urban life, and providing opportunities to educate visiting family members and friends about appreciation and respect for nature. A small portion of the land was converted for residential use, and another, smaller portion of the land was converted for keeping horses. Features relating to land use on Sky Ranch include the cabins, with their front porches and/or patios oriented for the best view of the mountains and wildlife movement; the horse barn and corrals, and riding and hiking trails. Human impact on the land has been kept to a minimum, demonstrating the primary use of the property as a place to gather, think, read, observe, walk and talk, as opposed to more active uses of the land. CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: Recreational use Residential/vacation use NON-CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: National Park Service use 8. NATURAL SYSTEMS AND FEATURES: Sky Ranch straddles the border between the forested slopes and ridges of the Teton Range, and the sagebrush flats of the Snake River valley. The Teton Range, and specifically Buck Mountain, rises up behind the western boundary of the property, while to the east the property flattens out into the valley of the Snake River. At the far side of the valley to the east, and in view of the property, rises the Gros Ventre Range. The property is fed by two natural springs (Balderston Spring and Bee Wee Creek) and natural runoff. CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: Forested slopes and ridges of the Teton Range

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Sagebrush flats of the Snake River valley Balderston Spring Bee Wee Creek NON-CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: N/A 9. SMALL SCALE FEATURES: Small-scale features on Sky Ranch consist of typical ranch features such as fences, gates, corrals and trails, as well as features relating to the property’s use as a vacation home. Small-scale features add to both the rustic and the recreational feel of the property. A simple log gateway with a sign sporting the Sky Ranch logo, flanked by buck and rail fencing, marks the entrance to Sky Ranch. A cattle guard crosses the road at the gateway. The entire property was originally bounded with buck and rail fencing, but only the fencing along the south and east boundaries, which was repaired in 1997, remains intact. A round, concrete marker with the Sky Ranch logo is set in the ground marking the northeast corner of the property, near the corral. Behind the Grand cabin, a game trail passes from north to south, past a salt lick located about 30 feet west of the structure. A power line cuts approximately north-south across the property west of the Grand cabin, as does a wire fence with steel posts. At the northwest corner of the property, a log gate connects Sky Ranch with the Valley Trail. Stone retaining walls line portions of the eastern (front) yards of the Aunt Hill and Grand cabins. The entrance to the Aunt Hill cabin consists of a stone retaining wall running the full-length of the eastern façade, with a stone stairway leading to the front door. The entrance to the Grand cabin consists of a path constructed of seven log ends buried in the ground leading to a wooden staircase. A three-log retaining wall runs the full-length of the eastern façade with a stone retaining wall anchoring the southern end of the log retaining wall. Domestic and recreational small-scale features include a wooden swing which hangs from a pole attached to two large Douglas fir trees across the driveway from Ray and Anna's Cabin, and a tree fort located along the trail leading from the Sky Bunk cabin to the Valley Trail. The tree fort was built in the late 1980s, of logs nailed to six trees, creating a polygon. Plywood is used as decking and a two-log railing runs around the edge. The fort is accessed by a log ladder with rungs nailed to small fir trees. A small bridge, constructed of 3-inch-diameter logs with a railing on one side, crosses Bee Wee Creek, linking the Grand cabin with the buildings to the north. A 20 by-24-foot patio/barbeque area is located downhill from the Grand cabin. The patio is constructed of log ends buried in the ground, and matches the west patio of the Grand cabin and the front patio of the Sky Bunk cabin. A low, metal fireplace/grill sits on a brick base at the northeast corner of the patio. CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: Sky Ranch gate and sign Buck and rail fencing Cattle guard at entrance Concrete marker with the Sky Ranch logo Salt lick Wire fence with steel posts Log gate connecting Sky Ranch with Valley Trail Stone and log retaining walls

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Buried log end path leading to Grand cabin Wood swing Bridge across Bee Wee Creek Patio/barbeque area NON-CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: Tree fort and log ladder

View looking west at the entrance gate and entry road leading to the Sky Ranch Historic District. The domestic building cluster with Grand and Aunt Hill cabins, is in the background. Source: National Park

Service, 2005.

View looking southeast from the Grand cabin with wooden log retaining wall, buck and rail fence line, and

Gros Ventre Range in the distance. Source: National Park Service, 2005.

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10. SPATIAL ORGANIZATION: The landscape is organized to take advantage of the natural view shed, while minimizing impact on the land. The property is organized into two clusters: 1) domestic buildings, and 2) the barn and associated corrals. The domestic cluster is located approximately in the center of the property. The three main residential structures are sited along the hillside in a roughly linear pattern from north to south, at the transition between the forest and the sagebrush. Cabins are oriented to face the Gros Ventre Range to the east/southeast, and are arranged in such a way that one cannot be seen from inside the other. The trees and mountains to the west of the cabins provide relief from the hot afternoon sun. Utility structures are located behind (west of) the residential buildings, and are not visible from the approach to the property. All buildings were sited so as to have minimum impact on the natural landscape and to allow retention of as much of the natural topography and related features as possible. The barn and corrals constitute an agricultural cluster in the northeast corner of the property, downwind from and lower in elevation than the domestic cluster, and screened by a forest of Douglas-fir. A buck-and-pole fence delineates the southern and eastern property boundaries. CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: Domestic building cluster Agricultural building cluster Siting of buildings and structures for views Siting of buildings and structures for minimal impact to the landscape Relationship between buildings and structures and to the landscape. NON-CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: N/A 11. TOPOGRAPHY: The topography of the site is gently sloping from west to east, from the mountain forests to the sagebrush flats. Elevation rises to 6,800 feet along the western property line, and drops to 6,720 feet at the eastern boundary. Historic adaptations to the topography are limited to slight terracing to create a level surface with good drainage for the three main cabins, all of which are built along the contour of the slope. Below (to the east of) the cabins, the topography gradually flattens out, and turns into sagebrush meadow and pastureland. The barn and corrals are tucked into a natural meadow surrounded by Douglas-firs on the northeast corner of the property. The positioning of the barn in this way hides it from the views of each of the aforementioned structures. No significant change to the historic adaptations of the topography has occurred. CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: Gently sloping topography Slight terracing for building sites NON-CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: N/A 12. VEGETATION:

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Vegetation is almost entirely composed of native species. The western part of the property, along the slope leading off of Buck Mountain below the Valley Trail, has a mix of old and new growth Douglas-fir and a few sub-alpine fir. Aspen trees and a mix of sub-alpine shrubs, sedges, flowers, and grasses grow in the wet, spring-fed meadow in the central part of the uphill side of the property between the Grand cabin and the Valley Trail. The major portion of the southeastern section of the property (in front of the Grand cabin and Aunt Hill cabin) is a sagebrush meadow which leads into the traditional pasture lands of the White Grass Ranch beyond the district boundary. The northeast portion of the property below the Sky Bunk cabin is a Douglas-fir forest and a small rocky meadow leading down to the barn and corral area. The horse trail along the north side of the property follows a forest of large Douglas-firs, near the edge of the spring-fed meadow. Native flowers such as Columbine have been planted around the Grand cabin and the east side of the Aunt Hill cabin, and a small garden space exists on the south side of the Aunt Hill yard. Large Douglas-fir stumps, remnants of beetle-killed trees which were removed in the 1980s, are present on the western slope between the back patio of the Grand cabin and the spring-fed meadow. CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: Native species Stands of Douglas-fir, aspen, and sub-alpine species Sagebrush meadow Rocky meadow Spring-fed meadow Small garden space south of Aunt Hill cabin NON-CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: N/A 13. VIEWS AND VISTAS: The visitor’s first view of Sky Ranch is traveling north on the Sky Ranch road and looking west across the historic White Grass Ranch pasture. This view encompasses not only the pasture and Sky Ranch, but also spectacular views of Buck Mountain. When one turns west onto Sky Ranch, the vista of pasture in the foreground, with Death Canyon and Buck Mountain in the background, dwarfs the unassuming buildings nestled on the edge of the Douglas-fir forest. The sage-gray log structures, arranged linearly following the natural topography of the property, blend in well with the sagebrush meadow in front of them. The buck-and-rail fence and ranch gate with the Sky Ranch logo provide a rustic introduction to this rural setting. Landscape changes have been kept to a minimum, and much of the natural vegetation remains undisturbed. From interior and east-facing porches and patios of the Grand, Aunt Hill and Sky Bunk cabins, close to 180-degree views and vistas exist, encompassing the sagebrush meadow, buck-and-rail fence, White Grass pasture, Snake River valley, Blacktail Butte and the Gros Ventre Range. Looking west from the interior and west-facing patio of the Grand cabin, views of the sub-alpine aspen and Douglas-fir forest lead the eye to the view of Buck Mountain towering above the trees. CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: View of Death Canyon and Buck Mountain to the west Views of pasture and White Grass Ranch from entrance road Views of buck-and-rail fence and ranch gate with the Sky Ranch logo

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180-degree east views from cabins to sagebrush meadow, buck and rail fence, White Grass pasture, Snake River Valley, Blacktail-Butte and the Gros Ventre Range Views of Douglas-fir forest and sub-alpine aspen NON-CONTRIBUTING FEATURES: N/A Condition Assessment Condition Assessment Good Assessment Date 5/22/2011 Condition Assessment Explanatory Narrative: Contributing landscape features are generally in good condition and have continued to retain their good condition despite the change in use from vacation home to seasonal housing. The small-scale landscape features are in the poorest condition, though they are still in overall good condition. Impacts to Inventory Unit

Impact Type: Weathering External/Internal: External Impact Explanatory Narrative: The single largest threat to the landscape is the extreme Wyoming climate consisting of intense sun, heavy snow loads, and large temperature swings. Treatment Approved Landscape Treatment: Undetermined Approved Landscape Treatment Completed: No. Approved Landscape Treatment Explanatory Narrative: There are no treatment plans associated with the Sky Ranch. As of 2011, a Historic Property Management Plan was underway, which will outline treatment for the Sky Ranch buildings and structures. Approved Landscape Treatment Document: None. Approved Landscape Treatment Document NA Date: Bibliography Citation Title Citation Author Year Of

Publication

Publisher

Early Jackson Hole Allen, Marion V. 1981 Redding, CA: Press Room Printing

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"Interview with Bill Balderston: Tells of work on Jackson Lake Dam in 1914." Jackson Hole Guide, August-September 1973.

Anderson, Emory.

1973 Jackson Hole Guide

Working at Play: A History of Vacations in the United States

Aron, Cindy S. 1999 New York: Oxford University Press

Building with Logs: Western Log Construction in Context

Attebery, Jennifer Eastman.

1998 Moscow, ID: University of Idaho Press

Personal interviews. June 9 – 13, 2005. Balderston, Ann

2005

Personal interview. June 13, 2005 Balderston, William IV

2005

Grand Teton National Park Multiple Property Submission

Caywood, Janene and Ann Hubber

1997 National Park Service, Grand Teton National Park

Consumer Electronics Association website. http://www.ce.org/publications/hall_of_fame/inductees.asp Accessed 5/29/05.

2005

Cooperman, Emily T. Bower, John Arnold, Sr. (1901-1988). Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Website. http://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/ar_display.cfm/22382 Accessed 5/29/05.

2005

A Place Called Jackson Hole: A Historic Resource Study of Grand Teton National Park.

Daugherty, John

1999 Moose, WY: Grand Teton Natural History Association

Sky Ranch Historic District Determination of Eligibility, 2005

Humstone, Mary

2005 National Park Service

Texas Log Buildings: A Folk Architecture Jordan, Terry G.

1978 Austin: University of Texas Press

Rocky Mountain Rustic: Historic Buildings of the Rocky Mountain National Park Area

Lindberg, James, Patricia Raney, and Janet Robertson

2004 Estes Park, CO: Rocky Mountain Nature Association

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In Search of the Golden West: The Tourist in Western America

Pomeroy, Earl 1957 Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press

Correspondence (including the “Galey file”), photographs, diaries, scrapbooks, 1952 – 1980. Balderston family collection, courtesy of William Balderston II.

Balderston family

Jackson Hole Historical Society, Jackson, Wyoming.

Teton County Assessor's Office, Jackson, Wyoming.